THE LATEST LINE: SEMO HOOPS HAS MADE UP GROUND FAST

Recruiting in any sport is always an inexact science. College coaches try and sign the best players they can -- and then hope those athletes pan out.

But, until a year or two down the road -- and in some cases even three or four -- you never know how good your recruiting class actually was. The proof is in how well those athletes end up performing.

That being said, it appears as if Southeast Missouri State University's men's basketball coaching staff was able to land some pretty impressive talent despite getting a late start while waiting for the NCAA's ruling regarding violations in the program under a previous coaching staff.

Now, coach Gary Garner and his assistants might not have signed any real superstars, but it does appear that they landed some pretty talented players.

And Garner and company were able to land at least a couple of the players that they had targeted all along, which is always a good sign. You never like to wind up signing players who were your second or third choices.

In junior-college players Mike Branson and Brian Bunche, the Indians appear to have guys who will be able to step right in next season and contribute. And in freshman Drew DeMond, they appear to have a top-flight athlete for the future.

And if SEMO is able to land Three Rivers standout Larry Fisher -- which is reported to be a strong possibility -- then the Indians' recruiting class will really look good because signing the talented Fisher has been one of Garner's top priorities all along.

* It was recently called to my attention, and correctly, that in my column last year immediately after former SEMO basketball coach Ron Shumate was fired, I vowed to rip the administration unless substantial charges were found and those charges were supported by the NCAA investigation.

It was also suggested that, now that the charges have been found and supported by the NCAA, I owed some congratulations to the administration on its responsible and courageous -- albeit unpopular -- actions at the time.

Well, now I am commending the administration on what appears to have been -- based on the NCAA's report -- its justified actions, although I still say certain things could have been handled a bit differently.

In any event, as I've told a lot of people, I'm ready to put all this NCAA stuff in the past and look to the future of SEMO basketball, which appears to be extremely bright.

I might be proven wrong, but I believe Garner and his assistants are going to build an extremely strong program for this level, one that is going to contend for an OVC title in the near future. That's how impressed I am with Garner and his staff.

Like I said, I might be proven wrong. But I don't think so. And if I am, then you'll read about it here.

* And continuing on the subject of SEMO sports, congratulations to the women's track team for winning the OVC outdoor championship Saturday.

This marks the fourth straight OVC title for the Otahkians, who have won the past two league indoor and outdoor championships.

~Marty Mishow is a sports writer for the Southeast Missourian